Joseph Olowu is ending his loan club with Cork City a game early, with the club already resigned to relegation at the end of the season.

Joseph Olowu with Cork City (Photo via Olowu on Instagram)
Joseph Olowu with Cork City (Photo via Olowu on Instagram)

Cork City confirmed on Saturday that Joseph Olowu’s loan spell with the club was at an end. They wished him well for the future as he returned to Arsenal.

Olowu wrote on Instagram that he was “beyond grateful for the opportunity” to play for the club. He added that “things may not have gone the way we wanted but that’s all part of learning and gaining valuable experience”, before wishing them the best.

Cork City’s season isn’t actually over just yet, with another game against Derry City next Sunday. However, the team can no longer drag themselves out of 10th place, even with a win. They’re going down no matter what.

As a result, they took the decision to cut Olowu’s loan short. He’ll return to Arsenal and rejoin the u23s in the coming weeks.

We don’t know exactly when Olowu will reintegrate with Arsenal. As he was working on a calendar year format with Cork City, you wouldn’t normally expect him to immediately join the Gunners for their season from August to May. That would make it a very long individual season for the defender.

But with the long lockdown break in Ireland, Olowu had March to August without any matches anyway. So they may decide to count that as his holiday and bring him back as soon as possible.

Obviously, it’s hugely disappointing for the player to be involved in a relegation campaign, but the fan responses to his contributions were positive. The wrote the following replies to news of his departure:

  • “By far one of our best players all year”
  • “Definitely one of the best players, if not the best, in a bad season. Will be hugely missed next year; bright future ahead for him in the upper divisions in England I think”
  • “He will be missed”
  • “Thanks, Big Joe…best of luck for the future”